2022 Big Ten Recruiting- A Top 6 Ranking for each position group

The below rankings are based on 247 composite rankings. 

Recruiting sites make it easy to compare recruits.  For instance, you can easily find out where a recruit stacks up nationally by looking at the Top 247, the Rivals250, or the ESPN 300.  Or, you can find out where a recruit stacks up relative to others at the same position by looking at the 247 position rankings.  State rankings reveal how recruits stack up relative to other recruits from their home state.  You can find out how a recruit stacks up relative to their future teammates by looking a school’s commitment list. 

But, it takes time to find out how a recruit stacks up relative to their future opponents.  I want to know if Michigan is bringing in some of the Big Ten’s best at each position.  So, I put together a list of position rankings for Big Ten 2022 recruits.  ESPN, Rivals, and 247 have all announced that they have updated their rankings for the last time this cycle (post All-star games.)  Since these rankings are final, and very, very few players who could impact the below lists remain unsigned (Josh Conerly, etc.), this seems like the time for a Big Ten recruit summary.

Highest Rated (247 Composite) Big Ten Recruits By Position (A Top 6 Ranking for each position group) according to 247 Composite rankings.

QB

1. Drew Allar - Penn State 5*
2. Devin Brown- Ohio State 4*
3. Brady Allen- Purdue 4*
4. Katin Houser- Michigan State 4*
5. Alex Orji- Michigan 3*
6. Carson May- Iowa 3*

 

RB

1. Nicholas Singleton- Penn State 5*
2. Kaytron Allen- Penn State 4*
3. Ramon Brown- Maryland 4*
4. Gi’Bran Payne- Indiana 4*
5. Dallan Hayden- Ohio State 4*
6. Samuel Brown- Rutgers 4*

 

WR

1. Kaden Saunders- Penn State 4*
2. Kaleb Brown- Ohio State 4*
3. Kyion Grayes- Ohio State 4*
4. Caleb Burton- Ohio State 4*
5. Tyler Morris- Michigan 4*
6. Darrius Clemons- Michigan 4*

 

TE

1. Jerry Cross- Penn State 4*
2. Colston Loveland- Michigan 4*
3. Bennett Christian- Ohio State 3*
4. Brody Foley- Indiana 3*
5. Jack Nickel- Michigan State 3*
6. Marlin Klein- Michigan 3*

 

Interior OL

1. Carson Hinzman- Ohio State 4*
2. Jacob Allen- Rutgers 4*
3. DJ Moore- Indiana 3*
4. Kwabena Asamoah- Rutgers 3*
5. Cade McConnell- Minnesota 3*
6. Gavin Broscious- Michigan State 3*

 

Offensive Tackle

1. Joe Brunner- Wisconsin 4*
2. Tegra Tshabola- Ohio State 4*
3. Drew Shelton- Penn State 4*
4. George Fitzpatrick- Ohio State 4*
5. Danny McGuire- Northwestern 3*
6. Nick Herzog- Northwestern 3*

 

Edge Rushers

1. Kenyatta Jackson- Ohio State 4*
2. Omari Abor- Ohio State 4*
3. Dasan McCullough- Indiana 4*
4. Caden Curry- Ohio State 4*
5. Ken Talley- Penn State 4*
6. Anto Saka- Northwestern 4*

 

“Defensive Line”

1. Dani Dennis-Sutton- Penn State 5*
2. Derrick Moore- Michigan 4*
3. Aaron Graves- Iowa 4*
4. Hero Kanu- Ohio State 4*
5. Alex VanSumeren- Michigan State 4*
6. Nic Caraway- Purdue 4*

 

Linebacker-

1. CJ Hicks- Ohio State 5*
2. Gabe Powers- Ohio State 4*
3. Jaishawn Barham- Maryland 4*
4. Moses Walker- Rutgers 4*
5. Jimmy Rolder- Michigan 4*
6. Anthony Johnson- Rutgers 4*

 

Cornerback-

1. Will Johnson- Michigan 5*
2. Jyaire Brown- Ohio State 4*
3. Trevell Mullen- Indiana 4*
4. Jaeden Gould- Nebraska 4*
5. Cam Miller- Penn State 4*
6. Ryan Turner- Ohio State 4*

 

Safety

1. Sonny Styles- Ohio State 5*
2. Xavier Nwankpa- Iowa 4*
3. Keon Sabb- Michigan 4*
4. Zeke Berry- Michigan 4*
5. Cristian Driver- Penn State 4*
6. KJ Winston- Penn State 4*

 

Kicker

1. Jack Stone- Michigan State (7th Ranked Kicker overall)

 

Punter

1. Alex Bacchetta- Penn State (2nd Ranked Kicker overall)

 

Athlete

1. Mehki Flowers- Penn State 4*
2. Dillon Tatum- Michigan State 4*
3. Jaden Mangham- Michigan State 4*
4. Kody Jones- Michigan 4*
5. Octavian Smith Jr.- Maryland 4*
6. Kye Stokes- Ohio State 4*

 

Notable Junior College Recruits

1. JB Nelson- Penn State (Offensive Tackle)- 4*
2. Tyrece Mills- Penn State (Safety)- 3*
3. Anthony Grant- Nebraska (Running Back)- 3*
4. Isaiah Adams- Illinois (Offensive Tackle)- 3*
5. Deshon Singleton- Nebraska (Safety)- 3*

 

Since Michigan Recruits against Notre Dame for seemingly 50-60% of targets, here’s where notable Notre Dame Recruits would fit in the Big Ten Rankings if they joined the conference today:

 

QB- Steve Anjeli- 5th ranked QB

RB- Jadarian Price- 3rd ranked RB

WR- Tobias Merriweather- 4th ranked WR

TE- Eli Raridon- 1st ranked TE

TE- Holden Staes- 4th ranked TE

IOL- Billy Schrauth- 1st ranked IOL

OT- Aamil Wagner- 3rd ranked OT

OT- Joey Tanona- 5th ranked OT

OT- Ty Chan- 6th ranked OT

Edge- Aiden Gobaira- 5th ranked Edge

DL- Tyson Ford- 3rd ranked DL

LB- Jaylen Sneed- 2nd ranked LB

LB- Joshua Burnham- 4th ranked LB

LB- Niuafe Tuihalamaka- 6th ranked LB

CB- Jaden Mickey- 3rd ranked CB

 

 

 

Number of appearances in the Top 6 in each position group (not including special teams or JC transfers, but including the “Athlete” designation)

 

Ohio State- 19

Penn State- 12

Michigan- 11

Michigan State- 6

Indiana- 5

Rutgers- 5

Maryland- 3

Iowa- 3

Northwestern- 3

Purdue- 2

Minnesota- 1

Wisconsin- 1

Nebraska- 1

Illinois- 0

 

Observations:

• Clear East/West talent divide. 
• 3 tiers in the Big Ten East:  
  • Tier 1: Ohio State
  • Tier 2: Michigan and Penn State
  • Tier 3: the rest
• Penn State has the highest ranked player at all 4 offensive skill positions (QB, RB, WR, TE)
• Notre Dame has a lot of high-end talent in this class.  If in the Big Ten, they would have 15 players ranked in the top 6 of their position group.  They have 3 blue-chip Offensive Tackles.
• Ohio State has the most “in the trenches” talent in this year’s class. (3 Offensive Linemen in the top 12; 4 Defensive Linemen/Edge in the top 12)
• Michigan is unfortunately not well represented in the trenches (0 Offensive Linemen in the top 12; 1 Defensive Linemen/Edge in the top 12)
• Only Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State are represented on the receivers list.  If you were to expand that list to 10 players, those three schools would account for 8 of the top ten with one Maryland (Shaleak Knotts) and one Michigan State (Germie Bernard) recruit cracking the list.
• The only Michigan 4* player who did not rank in the top 6 of their position group in the Big Ten: Mason Graham, who is the 8th highest DL recruit, behind Purdue’s Joe Strickland (7th).
• If Michigan were to add Josh Conerly (and all else remains the same), they would remain 8th in the national class rankings, just a hair behind Notre Dame’s class.
• The largest “gaps” in overall ranking between players 1 and 2 on these lists is Will Johnson and Jyaire Brown (14 overall vs. 198 overall), Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen (30 overall and 152 overall),
• Wisconsin only has 1 player in the top 6 of their position group (an Offensive Tackle, of course)
• 5 * Players in the Big Ten: CJ Hicks (Ohio State), Sonny Styles (Ohio State), Will Johnson (Michigan), Dani Dennis-Sutton (Penn State), Nicholas Singleton (Penn State), Drew Allar (Penn State)
• On3 published a story (non-paywalled) about recruits that On3 ranks high above the industry average. These “On3 Outliers” include several Big Ten players:  Brady Allen (Purdue QB), Jimmy Rolder (Michigan LB), Kenneth Grant (Michigan DL), and Abdul Carter (Penn State LB).